{"id":589,"date":"2016-03-14T19:51:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T02:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/?p=589"},"modified":"2016-04-30T12:03:38","modified_gmt":"2016-04-30T19:03:38","slug":"isaiah-apocalypse-session-two-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/?p=589","title":{"rendered":"Isaiah Apocalypse – Session Two Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

WELCOME TO WEEK TWO. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks for the great feedback to WEEK ONE. We are covering some great portions of scripture, and I believe the Lord is breathing upon this class.\u00a0<\/strong>As you can see, what runs over (in my notes) as unfinished during any session will be where we pick up the following week (w modifications and additions as I review and press in).
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

ANNOUNCEMENT RE Thursday evening at Jesus Center \u2013 Rick Wienecke prophetic Israeli sculptor involved in a powerful project ministering mostly to the Jewish people and nation, but also to us all, will be making a presentation at the Maple facility at 6:30PM. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

TONIGHT \u2013 our focus will be on the Isaiah Apocalypse, and we will continue to be supporting our investigation into this prophecy by considering additional scripture in the bible. ONCE AGAIN \u2013 the scriptures are best INTERPRETED and UNDERSTOOD by the Scriptures. There is an alignment and revelation of biblical PLAN as well as biblical PERSONALITY (God\u2019s consistent personality) that is clearly in line with itself \u2013 so the BUNNY TRAILS, I believe, have divine purpose.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of the components we will be looking at briefly \u2013 (ex: Gog and Magog and who they might be) \u2013 could likely take weeks of study \u2013 and we would still end up CONCLUDING that our CONCLUSIONS re those components were still INCONCLUSIVE \u2013 there\u2019s simply too much mystery and strange writings about these subjects, as well as things yet to be revealed.<\/p>\n

But instead of avoiding them completely \u2013 we will touch on them lightly as they are spoken of in some pivotal scriptures that pertain to our efforts to attain an OVERVIEW PERSPECTIVE of what the Word tells us about the apocalyptic prophecy.<\/p>\n

So though we definitely will not come away with all the answers to the mysteries of everything touched upon, my hopes are that we will walk away with a clearer OVERVIEW of what God is telling us, and reassuring us about, in the Isaiah writings. OK?<\/p>\n

LOTS<\/u> OF TRAILS tonight. Hang on. I do believe they will all tie together in your spirit and in your mind, and you will come away with a revealed overview of what is happening, and what has to happen, and why. AND THAT is true PREPARATION. <\/strong><\/p>\n

BACK TO ISAIAH: <\/strong>
\nLast week we looked into some of the background spiritual and geo-political climate around Isaiah\u2019s time of prophecy. These scriptures in chapter 24 \u2013 WHICH WE WILL<\/u> GET TO TONIGHT! \u2013 speak to both<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Israel\/the people of God, and also<\/li>\n
  2. To the nations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The nations and the people of God are inextricably entwined. God uses one to address the other.
    \nThe people of God are called to a light TO the world.
    \nWhen they were in obedience their testimony is evangelistic. When they were in disobedience (and necessarily under correction by God), their testimony lent and continues to lend to worldwide confusion. AND THAT IS THE ALSO THE CONDITION AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE CHURCH TODAY.
    \nThe world has seen a sorry testimony of the people of God, and the world often mistakes their \u201csuccess\u201d in battling the people of God as evidence of either the weakness of God, the fallacy of God, or the failure of God \u2013 when in fact, God has told us over and over again that He would use the nations to discipline and direct His chosen people back into line with His purposes.<\/p>\n

    SOME SUPPORTIVE TEXTS FROM THE OT: <\/strong>
    \n2 Sam 7:14<\/em><\/strong>
    \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.<\/em>
    \n\u00a0<\/em>
    \nJudg 6:1<\/em><\/strong>
    \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,<\/em>
    \n\u00a0<\/em>
    \n\u00a0<\/em>
    \nEzek 39:21-23<\/em><\/strong>
    \n21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them.<\/strong><\/em>
    \nWHAT ISRAEL FINALLY KNOWS:<\/em><\/strong>
    \n22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.<\/em>
    \nWHAT THE NATIONS FINALLY KNOW:<\/em><\/strong>
    \n23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/em>
    \nEzek 36:20<\/em>
    \n20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name– when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’<\/em>
    \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This should speak TO US about the HIGH-LEVEL NATURE OF THE CHURCH TESTIMONY \u2013 <\/strong>when the world sees a dysfunctional and in fact corrected-by-God people our testimony does great damage to the evangelism of the world. But when we are in obedience to God, our testimony of anointing and blessing does wonders to lead the world to THEIR Messiah.
    \nREAD ps 67 if you like.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>
    \nPOINT TO NOTE: JEHOVAH-EFFICIENT is NEVER NOT dealing with everyone. <\/strong>
    \nHe personally is redeeming the time, because that is the right thing to do.
    \nGod Almighty is always redeeming the time. <\/strong>
    \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    MEANWHILE, LOOKING AT THE PLANS FOR THE NATIONS RAGING AGAINST GOD AND HOW THAT WILL GO \u2013 look at what the psalmist wrote, centuries before Isaiah \u2013 he asks a question, then answers it, and then foresees WHAT and HOW the Lord will respond, when it is time to respond \u2013 we left off here last week: <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Ps 2:1-12<\/strong>
    \nQUES:
    \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?<\/p>\n

    HOW ARE THEY RAGING:
    \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
    \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”<\/p>\n

    GOD\u2019S REACTION:
    \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD shall hold them in derision.
    \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:<\/p>\n

    GOD\u2019S RESPONSE \u2013 A HEAVENLY PROPHETIC DECLARATION:
    \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Yet (\u201cNONETHELESS, I HAVE MY PLANS\u201d) I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”<\/p>\n

    INTERESTING HERE \u2013 WHO MIGHT BE TALKING? Remember, earlier in the psalm it spoke of a rebellion against a PLURALITY:
    \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed<\/u><\/strong>, saying,
    \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Let us break Their bonds<\/u><\/strong> in pieces and cast away Their cords<\/u><\/strong> from us.”<\/p>\n

    THEN WE HAVE \u201cSOMEONE\u201d in heaven (Messiah?) speaking of what was said TO HIM:
    \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son<\/u><\/strong>, today I have begotten You.
    \n(notably – the PLURAL is also in the Jewish scriptures \u2013 THE TANAKH)
    \nTANAKH says:
    \n1 Why do nations assemble, and people plot vain things;
    \n2 kings of the earth take their stand,
    \nAnd regents intrigue together
    \nAgainst the Lord and against His anointed?
    \n3 let us break the cords of their yoke,
    \nAnd shake off their ropes from us!\u201d
    \nFOR US NT READERS \u2013 these scriptures are written, during the days of the Mosaic covenant, as eternal truths for the Jewish people. That WERE and REMAIN, yet to be fulfilled both for them and for us. The promise of MESSIAH is timeless, and the FULFILLMENT at the end of the age remains intact, and in place \u2013 once again confirming the doctrines of complete textual prophecy \u2013 a violent and complete end of world rebellion at the appearance of Messiah.
    \nONCE AGAIN \u2013 what properly comes into question are the current popular doctrines that God is NOT going to judge the rebellious when He returns, and that His judgments will NOT involve the destruction of many.
    \nBACK TO PSALM 2<\/strong>
    \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
    \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.'”<\/p>\n

    THE ADVICE TO THE NATIONS:
    \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth.
    \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.<\/p>\n

    THE IMAGERY OF WHO IS COMING BACK – AND MANKIND\u2019S\/OUR APPROPRIATE RESPONSE:
    \n12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kiss the Son<\/strong> \u2013 (prophecy of Messiah), lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.<\/p>\n

    SUPPORTING THAT <\/strong>\u2013 and confirming the sovereignty of God in the-end-of-times plans:
    \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Zech 14:1-4<\/strong>
    \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst.
    \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For I will gather all the nations<\/strong> (we will see more of this when we get to Isaiah 30) to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
    \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
    \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.
    \nEXTREME BUNNY TRIAL:<\/strong>
    \nEzek to Genesis to Zechariah, back to Ezekiel, then EVENTUALLY to Isaiah:<\/strong>
    \n\u00a0<\/strong>
    \nEzek 38:7-16 (don\u2019t get hung up on the \u201cwho\u2019s Gog?\u201d thing. It is unclear, although it is a without doubt a prophetic title TO DESCRIBE THE OPPOSITION TO THE PLANS OF GOD utilized: <\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. In Ezekiel to describe the warring nations at the end of THIS AGE, and <\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. AGAIN in Revelation to describe the final battle characters after Satan is released after doing time for 1,000 years. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      ONE CLEAR POINT: these are the nations raging against God. <\/strong>
      \nTHAT is probably the best common-ground explanation of Gog and Magog. <\/strong><\/p>\n

      In fact even the Quran mentions a Gog and Magog \u2013 as forces allied against THEIR OWN CORRUPT AND ERRONEOUS VISION of end-times victory for the forces of Allah.<\/p>\n

      Ezek 38:1-3<\/strong>
      \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
      \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of<\/strong> Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, (IN REVELATION, Gog OF Magog \u2013 a place \u2013 becomes morphed into Gog AND<\/u><\/strong> Magog, implying an alliance<\/strong> as opposed to a people from a place<\/strong> called \u201cGog\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 it gets more complicated as you dig deeper, into Josephus, into a book called the Book of Jubilees, the book of Enoch and even in Quran writings).<\/p>\n

      3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.<\/p>\n

      HERE\u2019S WHAT WE DO KNOW \u2013 the opposition \u2013 called GOG, is told this:<\/strong>
      \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
      \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely.
      \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
      \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan:
      \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’–
      \n12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.
      \n13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?'”‘
      \nGEOGRAPHICAL NOTE – Gen 10:6 mentions the following: <\/strong>
      \nGen 10:6-10 (btw the Jews came from SHEM, the son of Noah. Shem = SEMITES)<\/strong>
      \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The sons of Ham<\/strong> were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
      \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The sons of Cush (settled in South Arabia) were Seba<\/strong> (upper Egypt), Havilah (\u201csand-land\u201d likely northern and Eastern Arabia<\/strong> on the Persian Gulf), Sabtah (upper Egypt), Raamah, and Sabtechah (southern Arabia)<\/strong>; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan (northern Arabia)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      NATIONS IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA:
      \nYemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, southern Iraq and Jordan.<\/p>\n

      It is interesting that these same nations even today are figuring prominently in the violent opposition to Israel.<\/p>\n

      8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cush (ALSO) begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.
      \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.”
      \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel,<\/strong> Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar<\/strong>.
      \nSHINAR <\/strong>(modern day Iraq) \u2013 some feel is prophetically portrayed as a harbor for wickedness \u2013 awaiting end-of-age release: <\/strong><\/p>\n

      Zech 5:5-11 <\/strong> – the vision of young Zechariah re the woman in the basket:
      \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”
      \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth:
      \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”;
      \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.
      \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
      \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”
      \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar<\/u><\/strong>; when<\/u><\/strong> it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”
      \nBACK TO EZEKIEL 38: <\/strong>
      \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog<\/strong>, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it?
      \n15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army.
      \n16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”
      \nSo what we are seeing, beginning in Chapter 24 of Isaiah, is an INTERNATIONAL, WORLDWIDE PROCLAMATION of JUDGMENT that aligns with the prophetic imagery of Revelation and with other books of the bible that point to God doing a thorough work throughout all nations of the world \u2013 at the end of this age.<\/p>\n

      The work involves warfare, natural calamity, financial collapse, desperate people becoming more and more desperate, and God shaking everything that can be shaken.<\/p>\n

      In Isaiah you will also see the admonition to the saints \u2013 to the ones who fortunately and by His grace have access to hear the Lord \u2013 a capability for which we are accountable….<\/p>\n

      Heb 12:25-29<\/strong>
      \n25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,
      \n26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”
      \n27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
      \nThe SHAKING PROMISE OF HEBREWS<\/strong> refers back to scripture in the book of Haggai, which not only speaks of worldwide shaking, but tells the REASON and INTENT for the shaking work (which actually presents God as merciful<\/em> in that His severe troubling (tribulating) of earth is a massive attempt to bring all men to repentance<\/u>):
      \nHag 2:6-9<\/strong>
      \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “For thus says the LORD of hosts: <\/strong>“Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land;
      \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ‘and I will shake all nations<\/strong>, and they shall come<\/strong> to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts.
      \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.
      \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘<\/strong>And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
      \nOK \u2013 really – HERE WE GO \u2013 ISAIAH 24!<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Isa 24:1-23<\/strong>
      \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants.<\/p>\n

      (EVERYONE targeted for God\u2019s judgment \u2013 no distinction re office, calling, capacity, status.
      \nIt can be seen, later, that the SAFE PLACE is not POSITION IN THE WORLD, but instead only POSITION IN RELATION WITH GOD HIMSELF)
      \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And it shall be: as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor.
      \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, for the LORD has spoken this word.<\/p>\n

      VERSE TELLS US THIS HAS TO HAPPEN. God has spoken it.<\/p>\n

      Isaiah, in fact, tells us earlier that this is a plan and a prophecy that is non-negotiable \u2013 this is a pre-emptive strike, by God, against all that would want to come against His declared purposes \u2013 both from:<\/strong>
      \nA. OUTSIDE the church<\/strong> (who even might be falsely speaking of a DIFFERENT OUTCOME to the declarations of scripture \u2013 another religion (Islam \u2013 whose Quran mentions Israel as a GOG, and describes a return of Jesus who reveals Himself as a follower of Allah) and also from<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. INSIDE the church<\/strong> \u2013 ones preaching a smoother, easier \u201cgospel\u201d that would seek to change things.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Isa 14:24-27<\/strong>
        \n24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
        \n25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That I will break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke shall be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulders.
        \n26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is the purpose that is purposed against the whole earth<\/em>, and this is the hand that is stretched out over all the nations<\/strong>.
        \n27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it?<\/strong> His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

        (It is interesting to note that SOME of this challenge goes out to the nations<\/strong> who think they can rage against God and succeed. And SOME of this challenge goes out to the church<\/strong> that does not want to address the FULL-fillment of all the counsel of scripture, and think that somehow, because they get a roomful of people to say AMEN \u2013 that God will count the votes and change His mind and all that HASN\u2019T HAPPENED YET won\u2019t happen. THAT is a silly gospel).
        \nBACK TO ISAIAH 2<\/strong>4
        \n(the pointer to who suffers most \u2013 the haughty)
        \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish.<\/p>\n

        (the reason for the suffering \u2013 BECAUSE….)
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because<\/strong> they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.<\/p>\n

        Jesus mentioned in the curse ALREADY UPON THE EARTH when He spoke the famous words of John 3:
        \nJohn 3:17-19<\/strong>
        \n17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
        \n18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
        \n19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “And this is the condemnation<\/u><\/strong> (already in place at the time of Christ \u2013 which is why Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it. It was already condemned by its own breaking of the laws of God), that the light has come into the world, and men loved (PAST as well as ONGOING tense) darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.<\/p>\n

        OF NOTE FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD are the examples, in scripture, of God offering to relent when His people are in place \u2013 AT LEAST relenting towards His people. HE alone is and will be our only safe place.<\/p>\n

        (REFERENCES)
        \nEzek 14:14<\/strong>
        \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.
        \nGen 18:26<\/strong>
        \n26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”<\/p>\n

        \u00a0<\/strong>
        \nISA 24<\/strong>
        \n(the pleasures disappear, and don\u2019t work)
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The new wine fails, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh.
        \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The mirth of the tambourine ceases, the noise of the jubilant ends, the joy of the harp ceases.
        \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
        \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none may go in.
        \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 There is a cry for wine in the streets, all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
        \n12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the city desolation is left, and the gate is stricken with destruction.
        \n13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, it shall be like the shaking of an olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done.<\/p>\n

        MEANWHILE \u2013 the response of the righteous, the SAVED….
        \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing; for the majesty of the LORD they shall cry aloud from the sea.
        \n(the proper response of the people of God, who understand who is sovereign, and what He is doing)
        \n15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, the name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. \u2013 THIS COULD NOT apply to the forthcoming Babylonian invasion and captivity. The \u201ccoastlands of the sea\u201d is wording biblically applied to far off places, remote regions of the earth. AND THE NEXT VERSE confirms this globally sweeping perspective…
        \n16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:<\/strong> “Glory to the righteous!” \u2013 a WORSHIP CRY OF JOY.
        \nMEANWHILE, ISAIAH gets personal….
        \nBut I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
        \n17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
        \n18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken.<\/p>\n

        19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open, the earth is shaken exceedingly.
        \n20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall totter like a hut; its transgression shall be heavy upon it, and it will fall, and not rise again.
        \n21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, and on the earth the kings of the earth<\/strong>. Not applicable to the Babylonian captivity. Applicable to Psalm 2 and to Psalm 110 and to Ezekiel 38 \u2013 which we read.
        \n22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They will be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and will be shut up in the prison; after many days they will be punished.
        \n23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Then the moon will be disgraced and the sun ashamed; for the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem and before His elders, gloriously. SURELY: HHY.<\/p>\n

        WHEN WILL the LORD OF HOSTS reign on Mount Zion? The alignment of what we just read, compared to what we will now read in Zechariah, is startling. No wonder Satan doesn\u2019t want you reading the OT.<\/p>\n

        Zech 14:6-9<\/strong>
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish.
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It shall be one day which is known to the LORD– neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light.
        \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur.
        \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be–” The LORD is one,” and His name one. (ECHAD \u2013 numero uno, unique, complete, incomparable, indivisible, foremost, pre-eminent)
        \nMeanwhile, are the astronomical signs (no lights, lights diminishing, \u201csun ashamed\u201d \u2013 blushing – etc.) mentioned in any NT prophecy?
        \nMatt 24:29-30<\/strong><\/p>\n

        29\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Immediately (EUTHEOS)<\/strong> after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light<\/u>; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
        \n30\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
        \nMark 13:23-26<\/strong>
        \n23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
        \n24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
        \n25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in heaven will be shaken.
        \n26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
        \nBACK TO ISAIAH<\/strong> \u2013 just like David, in Psalm 36 \u2013 where he receives a heavy oracle re wickedness and immediately turns to praise a perfect God, Isaiah is so moved upon by the impression of worldwide judgment of the wicked, that he takes a breather, and turns to the place of JOY \u2013 the place of praise.<\/p>\n

        Isa 25:1-12<\/strong>
        \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
        \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For You have made a city a ruin (ISAIAH LOOKING FORWARD & UNDERSTANDING HIS PROPHECY WOULD OCCUR WITHOUT MAN ANNULLING IT), a fortified city a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
        \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore the strong people will glorify You; the city of the terrible nations will fear You.
        \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; for the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You will reduce the noise of aliens, as heat in a dry place; as heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.
        \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

        ABSOLUTE TIMING-MARKER \u2013 death will be swallowed up forever \u2013 only WHEN<\/u> our Lord returns.<\/strong>
        \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.
        \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And it will be said in that day<\/strong>: “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
        \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest, and Moab shall be trampled down under Him, as straw is trampled down for the refuse heap. (HHY)<\/strong>
        \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And He will spread out His hands in their midst as a swimmer reaches out to swim, and He will bring down their pride together with the trickery of their hands.
        \n12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The fortress of the high fort of your walls he will bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, down to the dust.
        \nTHE WORSHIP-SYMPHONY RESPONSE OF THE REDEEMED: <\/strong><\/p>\n

        Isa 26:1-21<\/strong>
        \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.
        \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.<\/p>\n

        (A PROMISE THE NT SAINTS PULL DOWN NOW \u2013 although firmly established in a future time)<\/strong>
        \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trust in the LORD forever, for in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For He brings down those who dwell on high, the lofty city; he lays it low, he lays it low to the ground, he brings it down to the dust.
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The foot shall tread it down– the feet of the poor and the steps of the needy.”
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, you weigh the path of the just.
        \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You; the desire of our soul is for Your name and for the remembrance of You.
        \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early; for when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
        \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

        V10 – A TRUTH THAT DEFIES THE HUMANISTIC CONCEPTS OF DEALING WITH EVIL<\/u><\/strong>
        \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he will deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.
        \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LORD, when Your hand is lifted up, they will not see. But they will see and be ashamed for their envy of people; yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.<\/p>\n

        12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LORD, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us.
        \n13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 O LORD our God, masters besides You have had dominion over us; but by You only we make mention of Your name.
        \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They are dead, they will not live; they are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
        \n15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You have increased the nation, O LORD, you have increased the nation; you are glorified; you have expanded all the borders of the land.
        \n16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 LORD, in trouble they have visited You, they poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.
        \nTHE IMAGERY IS WITHOUT QUESTION: <\/strong>
        \n17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As a woman with child is in pain and cries out in her pangs, when she draws near the time of her delivery, so have we been in Your sight, O LORD.
        \n18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
        \n19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.
        \n20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past.
        \n21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For behold, the LORD comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain<\/u>.<\/p>\n

        The \u201cdisclosure of blood\u201d means no one is getting away with anything.
        \nThe judgment of man will be thorough.
        \nThe redemption of the righteous will be clear and uncontestable.
        \nThe substitution of the blood of the guilty for the innocent blood that has been shed upon earth will be redemptive.<\/p>\n

        It speaks to us as to whose side we want to be on.
        \nBACK TO ISA 26<\/strong> V 21<\/strong> for a few minutes \u2013 the matter of bloodshed in the final times of the age, and the redemptive plan of God, re WHO and WHERE.
        \nA WORD OF JUDGMENT TOWARDS ISRAEL \u2013 because of their abominable religious practices that will incur the wrath of God.
        \nJer 19:3-6<\/strong>
        \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.
        \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind),
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom<\/u><\/strong>, but the Valley of Slaughter.<\/p>\n

        A RELATED PASSAGE \u2013 also pointing to the same valley of slaughter, this time looking forward to the end times when the kings of the earth are gathered by God for judgment \u2013 in the same place \u2013 this speaks of powerful prophetic worship \u2013 the \u201cairstrike\u201d initiated in the heavenly realms by the worshipping end-of-age saints.<\/p>\n

        Isa 30:31-33<\/strong>
        \n31\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For through the voice of the LORD Assyria will be beaten down, as He strikes with the rod.
        \n32\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, which the LORD lays on him, it will be with tambourines and harps; and in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.
        \n33\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For Tophet was established of old, yes, for the king it is prepared.<\/strong> He has made it deep and large; its pyre is fire with much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, kindles it.
        \nAND COORDINATING with Psalm 110 \u2013 which speaks clearly of the Messiah and His return.
        \nPs 110:5-7<\/strong>
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Lord is at Your right hand; he shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He shall judge among the nations, he shall fill the places with dead bodies, he shall execute the heads of many countries<\/strong>.
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; therefore He shall lift up the head.<\/p>\n

        So what we\u2019re beginning to formulate is a coordinated image of both the upcoming judgment on Judah, and also of the end-of-age judgment on the earth. History clearly shows us that much of the words we\u2019ve looked at have yet to be fulfilled<\/strong>. So we can look to their fulfillment.<\/p>\n

        Meanwhile, we can also look to the history of the Jewish nation and reflect on countless times of trouble and judgment as God continues to deal strongly with His people. Likewise, we would do well to understand that the NT saint has also come into covenant with God, and that covenant includes accountability.<\/p>\n

        PAUL, writing to a predominantly, and perhaps even absolutely GENTILE church in Asia Minor, tells them this (this was NOT written in the book of Hebrews \u2013 as if it CONTINUED TO APPLY exclusively to the JEWISH believers in Jesus).<\/p>\n

        1 Cor 10:1-15<\/strong>
        \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers (THE GENTILE CHURCH\u2019S SPIRITUAL JEWISH FATHERS = complete adoption to sonship!)
        \nwere under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
        \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
        \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 all ate the same spiritual food,
        \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now these things became our examples<\/strong>, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”
        \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;
        \n9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;
        \n10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.
        \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
        \n12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
        \n13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
        \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
        \n15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say<\/strong>.
        \nThere\u2019s no reason to comment on these clear verses. They say what they say, regardless of what man might want to teach as the \u201cnew grace\u201d.<\/p>\n

        Let\u2019s spend some more time in the NT since what we are reading in Isaiah has application to our age, and we want to confirm the words of the apostles \u2013 that THEY believed the validity of the OT teachings:<\/p>\n

        AFTER WRITING THAT THE OT had been written for the NT saint \u2013 PETER SAYS:<\/p>\n

        1 Pet 1:13-25<\/strong>
        \n13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
        \n14\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
        \n15\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
        \n16\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
        \nUNQUESTIONABLY TO THE SAINTS:<\/strong>
        \n17\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And if <\/u><\/strong>you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
        \n18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
        \n19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
        \n20\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
        \n21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
        \nWE HAVE MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF OUR FAITH, BY CHOOSING OBEDIENCE:<\/p>\n

        22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
        \n23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
        \n24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 because “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,
        \n25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.<\/p>\n

        THIS \u201cenduring forever\u201d word of the Lord, written 700 years PRIOR to the appearance of Jesus during His first advent, still awaits fulfillment. And as we will see that the ONLY SAFE place during the upcoming Babylonian invasion was IN GOD, so shall it be at the end of the age, when many of the same nations (and more) are prophesied to be coming against Israel, and warring against all that is of God.<\/p>\n

        The words of Jesus: <\/strong><\/p>\n

        Matt 7:21-29<\/strong>
        \n21\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
        \n22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Many will say to Me in that day<\/u>, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
        \n23\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
        \n24\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
        \n25\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
        \n26\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
        \n27\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
        \n28\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,
        \n29\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
        \nOK \u2013 Isa 27<\/strong>.
        \nIsa 27:1-13<\/strong>
        \n1\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In that day (YOM YAHWEH) the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; and He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.
        \n2\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In that day sing to her, “A vineyard of red wine!
        \n3\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I, the LORD, keep it, I water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day.
        \n4\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fury is not in Me. Who would set briers and thorns against Me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
        \n5\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Or let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me.”
        \n6\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Those who come (FROM THROUGHOUT THE EARTH, as a result of their wise response to the shaking work) He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

        Here we are told that God has been dealing heavily with His covenant people \u2013 and that He MERCIFULLY SCATTERED them instead of DESTROYING all of them
        \n7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Has He struck Israel as He struck those who struck him? Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
        \n8\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In measure, by sending it away, you contended with it. He removes it by His rough wind in the day of the east wind.<\/p>\n

        9\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered; and this is all the fruit of taking away his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altar like chalkstones that are beaten to dust, Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.<\/p>\n

        10\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Yet the fortified city (the city that strengthened itself against God) will be desolate, the habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness; there the calf will feed, and there it will lie down and consume its branches.
        \n11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; the women come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no understanding; therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, and He who formed them will show them no favor.
        \n12\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And it shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will thresh, from the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.<\/p>\n

        13\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So it shall be in that day: the great trumpet<\/strong> will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem. (the Isaiah 19 prophetic highway, once again. People from the warring enemy lands shall come to Messiah)<\/strong>
        \nNEXT WEEK (if we got this far, this week)\u2013 Isaiah 28<\/strong> \u2013 one of my most favorite chapters in all of scripture.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        WELCOME TO WEEK TWO. Thanks for the great feedback to WEEK ONE. We are covering some great portions of scripture, and I believe the Lord is breathing upon this class.\u00a0As you can see, what runs over (in my notes) as … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apocalypse","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":591,"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ez3728.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}